Nine month UPS parcel dispute flares up as Unite reps ...

Nine month UPS parcel dispute flares up as Unite reps ‘victimised’

The nine month dispute at UPS Parcels in central London flared up again today (Wednesday 25 June), as Unite, the country’s largest union, accused the company of victimising two of its reps.

Unite has been involved in the dispute at Camden, the biggest UPS depot in Europe, over unreasonable workloads and alleged bullying since last October.

Today, Unite, which represents about 150 workers at the Regis Street depot, said that one of its reps was suspended this morning and another faces a disciplinary hearing.

Unite regional officer Onay Kasab said that following this victimisation, the union will prepare to ballot UPS depots across London for strike action. The other depots will include Barking, Croydon, Dartford and Feltham.

Unite has been holding talks with the management under the auspices of the conciliation service, Acas since December to resolve the workload and bullying issues at Camden, but to no avail. Further talks are due to be held on Monday (30 June).

Onay Kasab said: “UPS has adopted a familiar tactic in the lead up to talks – it attacks our reps. It has done so before nearly every Acas round of talks.

“This morning our rep was suspended on the most spurious of grounds. Another rep faces disciplinary action for failing to deliver his overloaded workload - he was set up to fail. Enough is enough. We will now begin making preparations for a strike ballot which will include UPS depots across the capital.

“This is a company that forces workers to work beyond normal finishing times. Some drivers are regularly forced to work several hours beyond the 5.00pm finish time - or face disciplinary action.

“The management has not moved an inch since our members first went on strike on 22 November over excessive workloads.”

Unite has warned that UPS could lose out to its competitors, the Royal Mail and DHL, if the underlying issues at UPS are not addressed.